A’s enter the lion’s den starting Friday for three games at Yankee Stadium

photo by nydailynews.com: Former Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray will face his old teammates during the three game series between the A’s and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium starting Friday night

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s begin a 10-game road stand against the top three teams in the AL East. They meet the New York Yankees starting Friday night at Yankee Stadium. The A’s will be facing the hottest team in baseball at the moment. The Yankees have won 17 of the last 18 games and have moved into first place in the AL East. The Yankees On their last road trip, the Yankees swept all four games against the Houston Astros in Houston. The Astros are a very good, young team as well as defending World Championships and they were trampled by New York. The Astros, after two games with Arizona, came to Oakland and swept the A’s.

The A’s have record of 18-19 and are in fourth place in the AL West. The A’s have not announced who will start Friday night. A’s starter Trevor Cahill was placed on the 10-day DL with tightness in his arm. The A’s may recall Kendall Graveman or Chris Bassitt from Nashville to make a start. Andrew Triggs will pitch on Saturday, and Brett Anderson goes for Oakland on Sunday. Triggs has pitched reasonably well but has not faced a fearsome a lineup like the Yankees. Lefty Brett Anderson throws on Sunday, and the hopes are that he will have a better outing. The Astros blasted him in the game on Monday night that they won 16-2.

The Yankees pitching stacks up this way. Former A’s starter, Sonny Gray pitches Friday night. Gray is 2-2 and his an ERA of 6.00. Gray would like nothing better than to beat his old teammates. Rookie Domingo German (0-1, 2.21) goes on Saturday, and Luis Severino, who is rapidly becoming the ace of the Yankee staff, throws on Sunday. Severino is 5-1 with an ERA of 2.21.

The Yankees are living up to the nickname of being the Bronx Bombers. They have players up and down the lineup that can knock the ball out of the park. The A’s pitchers will have to deal with Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton. Didi Gregorius, Gary Sanchez, Neil Walker, Miguel Andujar, and Gleyber Torres. These guys are almost an entire All-Star team. If these guys continue to terrorize opponents’ pitching, A’s manager Bob Melvin butter have some Tylenol ready for his headache.

Even if the A’s can find a way to get the offense going and send the starters to the showers, the Yankee bullpen is loaded. Featured relievers are Chad Green, Chasen Shreve, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman, the closer.

The A’s took two out of three from Boston when they were the hottest team in baseball. It can be done. Hopefully, they will find a way to upset the Yankees’ apple cart.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: How much help will Harden get facing Warriors in round 3?; Can Giants win this series in Pittsburgh tonight?; plus more

photo from express.co.uk: The Houston Rockets Chris Paul (3) and James Harden (13) confer on the floor during the playoffs as the Rockets prepare to meet Golden State for game one round 3 of the NBA Playoffs

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 James Harden of the Houston Rockets–Will he be like an Island facing the Golden State Warriors Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson? Will he have a supporting cast in this upcoming series starting on Monday?

#2 Last year’s playoffs, Harden went 2-11 in the loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Will he get some help from his teammates this time around?

#3 The Giants are going into Pittsburgh after getting swept in Philadelphia. After getting swept, the Giants certainly want to get a series win from the Bucs.

#4 On Tuesday night, the Seattle Mariners pitcher James Paxton threw a no-hitter in Toronto, marking the first time a Canadian born pitcher threw a no-hitter in his home and native land. It’s the second time a Canadian pitcher threw a no-hitter since 1946.

#5 The Manchester United are in San Jose for a match with the San Jose Earthquakes on July 22. Tony takes a look at how important it is for the MLS to have Manchester here to help promote the league.

Tony Renteria does Headline Sports each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: After getting swept by Astros, A’s go into lion’s den at Yankee Stadium Friday night

Photo credit: @athletics_fanly

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry:

#1 The Oakland A’s got swept by the Houston Astros in Oakland Wednesday afternoon in a 4-1 loss to Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole.

#2 The Astros in their own right got some hitting production with runs in the seventh and eighth innings.

#3 The Astros got hitting production from Jose Altuve’ three hits and a run scored and the Astros catcher Max Stassi had two hits and a run scored.

#4 Cole had a quality start with six innings, four hits, one earned run and nine strikeouts.

#5 For the A’s, it’s onto New York for three games coming off this sweep. The A’s would like to get something going.

Jerry Feitelberg does the A’s podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips: Giants look to get out of Philadelphia and shoot for a series win in Pittsburgh

Photo credit: @SFGiants

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Michael Duca and Morris Phillips:

For the San Francisco Giants, it’s been almost regular for them to win a three-game series after not doing that and they have managed to string together four. Despite the injuries, the Giants have been looking good winning those series. This inspired them not having a rotation that they might have expected to have.

Before leaving San Francisco for Atlanta and Philadelphia the Giants had a great homestand. Then onto Atlanta where they swept the Braves and then in Philadelphia they dropped the first two games of the series. They play three teams that on this trip as they conclude this journey in Pittsburgh starting on Friday night.

 

NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Vegas goes into third round with momentum; Nashville takes home ice into Game 7

Photo credit: @PredsNHL

On the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 How amazing are these Vegas Golden Knights in their last series win with San Jose after getting shutout 4-0 in Game 4, then coming back to win two straight–one in Vegas and the other in San Jose?

#2 How would you evaluate the Sharks season–as a hard effort in the second round, but a good season? That the Knights were just too much for the Sharks to get by in the last two games.

#3 The Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets face off with the series all tied up 3-3. The Preds won Monday night in Game 6 to force a Game 7. The Preds dominated with a 4-0 shutout and take the series back to Nashville for a Wednesday night face off.

#4 Game 7 will be in Nashville and this will be a tougher setting for the Jets than home ice. Mary Lisa gives us her take on how Game 7 will turn out.

Mary Lisa Walsh does the NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu: Timbers chop down Quakes; Dangerfield becomes Quakes Hall of Famer; plus more news

Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

On the San Jose Earthquakes podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. The San Jose Earthquakes lost to the Portland Timbers 1-0 at Avaya Stadium last Saturday. Give us a quick summary of that game.

2. The new version of the MLS app is completely redesigned and rebuilt with their fans in mind.

3. Former English footballer Chris Dangerfield is now in the Quakes’ Hall of Fame.

4. Mark Caliguire and Connor Robert Casey won the MOVEment Week juggling contest and will join Quakes players Tommy Thompson, Jackson Yueill and Jahmir Hyka for a juggling session at an upcoming training.

5. The Quakes recognized Evergreen community members Stacy Le, Brigitte Parman and Sukhdev Singh Bainiwal as part of Wells Fargo Neighborhood Nights.

Ana Kieu does the San Jose Earthquakes podcasts each week at SportsRadioService.com.

NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Ovi and Caps bring it to the last stanza of Eastern playoffs; Tampa Bay has some sharp shooters

Photo credit: @theScore

On the Eastern Conference Finals podcast with Marko:

#1 The Washington Capitals got a huge 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night to move onto the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s the first time the Caps have been to the Eastern Conference Finals in 20 years.

#2 It was a tight series between the Penguins and Capitals, who never gave an inch as it took six games. Marko reviews who will win in the East between the Lightning and Pens.

#3 Tampa Bay rolled over the Boston Bruins for a 4-1 series win in five games. The Bolts have some guys who can provide some offense in this series.

#4 Nikita Kucherov led Tampa Bay in goals and assists and was always a threat in the postseason.

Marko Ukalovic does the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoff Finals podcast each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Warriors close out Pelicans in five games 113-104; Rockets next

@warriors photo: The Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors open their third round series starting next Monday at Golden State for game 1

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Golden State opened Game 5 of its NBA West playoff game at New Orleans with a third-quarter blitz that propelled the Warriors past the Pelicans 113-104, earning a 4-games-to-1 series triumph.

The Warriors now look forward to the much-anticipated Western Conference final against the Houston Rockets, who eliminated the Utah Jazz. It’s the fourth consecutive Western final for Golden State.

It was the Warriors’ 15th consecutive postseason win at home, tying the 1989-90 and 1990-91 Chicago Bulls for the longest such streak in NBA playoff history.

After a sluggish start, the Warriors opened the third quarter at Oracle Arena with a 25-4 run.

Stephen Curry shot 10-of -16 from the field, including 3-of-6 behind the arc, and he finished with a team-high 28 points, to go with eight assists, seven rebounds and a steal. It was Curry’s fourth game back in the lineup after missing five weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Klay Thompson contributed 23 points, six rebounds three assists and a steal for Golden State, and Kevin Durant scored 11 of his 24 points in the second quarter. Durant also had seven assists, six rebounds and two steals.

Draymond Green kicked in 19 points, 14 boards, nine assists, three steals and blocked two shots.

Anthony Davis had a monster game in defeat for New Orleans, finishing with a game-high 34 points (13-of-26 field goals), a playoff career-high 19 rebounds and four blocked shots in 46 minutes. Jrue Holiday had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 boards, his first playoff triple-double.

The Warriors-Rockets series begins Monday in Houston.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: The Warriors roll in five playoff games against Pelicans

Photo credit: @warriorsworld

On the Warriors podcast with David tonight:

After dropping Game 5 in New Orleans to the Pelicans, the Golden State Warriors did some talking to themselves and got back on track quick with the help of Kevin Durant, who led Golden State with 38 points. Durant had been a little passive in Game 2, but came out with all cylinders firing in Game 3 in the Warriors’ 118-92 win at Oracle Arena. The Warriors’ Stephen Curry followed Durant with 23 points and Klay Thompson with 13.

David Zizmor does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Was 16-2 blowout just a rare occasion or is A’s pitching in trouble?; A’s considering switching flagship stations

Photo credit: @Athletics

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:

1) The A’s were blown out 16-2 in the opening game of the Astros series. How would you say the team is playing at the moment?

2) You had some overall concerns about the Orioles series. What exactly bothered you about the A’s three-game sweep?

3) I know you believe there is one story involving an Athletic that trumps all other baseball stories

. 4) What is up with A’s president Dave Kaval asking the fans if they should keep 95.7 The Game as their flagship radio station?

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com